


Open Heart

by sunandsana



Series: Afire Love [6]
Category: NCT (Band), The Boyz (Korea Band)
Genre: Fluff and Humor, I feel like my tagging had gotten worse :(, Injury Recovery, M/M, Some happiness after my last fic!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-03-15 03:01:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,953
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28806246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunandsana/pseuds/sunandsana
Summary: “I’m excited too. I wonder what questions they're going to ask us.”“Sex questions.”
Relationships: Son Youngjae | Eric/Na Jaemin
Series: Afire Love [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2079108
Comments: 2
Kudos: 22





	Open Heart

Eric grinned at the hospital staff who he had become quite familiar with. They smiled softly at the energetic boy, a complete turn around from the way he had looked the first 3 weeks they’d seen him. 

He practically skipped to his boyfriend's room, glad to find the other awake and watching tv. Jaemin looked much better than he had a week prior, most of the bandages were gone, save for a cast around his wrist, and he was fully capable of communicating as usual. 

Jaemin looked up at the door opening and grinned at him. “Eric. I was waiting for you.”

Eric smiled and walked over only to immediately be pulled into a kiss. He sighed softly against his boyfriends lips, basking in the quietness that surrounded them save for the background noise of the television. The kiss stayed chaste for a while before Jaemin swiped his tongue across Eric’s bottom lip. The blonde immediately opened up and allowed his boyfriend to lick into his mouth. Eric brought a hand up to brush through Jaemin’s hair now that it wasn’t covered in bandages. 

Jaemin pulled back slightly and went to kiss Eric’s neck before the other tugged on his hair to face him. 

“Nana, we’re in a hospital. No naughty business.” 

Jaemin pouted, but Eric was resolute as he pecked him one last time and sat down. 

“What are you watching?” Eric asked. 

“Oh nothing, just the news.” Eric looked over at him as the other smirked at him. 

“Oh yeah? Anything new?” Eric went along with his teasing. 

Jaemin sighed dramatically, “Not really.” He paused defender continuing, “”Well, there was something interesting.” 

“And what may that be?” 

“Apparently famous singer Na Jaemin and his boyfriend are gonna be doing an interview with Vogue Korea next week.” 

“Oh?” Eric giggled. 

Jaemin nodded enthusiastically. “What a shame, though. His boyfriend is quite hot, I wouldn’t mind taking him out myself.” 

Eric playfully glared at him, “Is that so? I think Na Jaemin could do better. He’s quite attractive.” 

Jaemin couldn’t hold in his laughter as he burst. Eric watched him with fond eyes, hopelessly in love with the idiot. 

“Seriously though. I’m kind of excited for this interview. I heard we’re doing a couples photoshoot too. I can finally watch you in action.” 

The couple had discussed their forced coming out a few days after he’d woken up from his coma. Jaemin had seemed pretty nonchalant but the blush on his cheeks betrayed his embarrassment for having his personal note broadcast to the world. He had even forced Eric to show him the press conference, despite the younger boy's reluctance . Jaemin had spent 20 minutes crying afterwards and when Eric asked him why his answer was simple. “I just love you so much.” 

“I’m excited too. I wonder what questions they're going to ask us.” 

“Sex questions.” 

Eric paused and turned to face Jaemin. “Why are you like this?” 

“I don’t know, but you love me regardless.” 

“Maybe something is wrong with me too.” 

Jaemin gasped and placed his hand on his heart. “You wound me Son Youngjae.” 

Eric glared at him. “You promised you would never call me that.” 

Jaemin smirked. “I lied.” 

The couple continued bickering, sounds of laughter and joy filtering through the hallway. 

————

2 weeks later, Eric was scrolling through his phone as his manager drove them towards their location. He had his gc with the members opened, all of them sending their best wishes for his interview. He smiled at a meme sunwoo sent just as his manager stopped the car outside a large dorm building. 2 figures approached them, one going to sit in the passenger seat and the other pulling the back door open. 

Eric’s eyes softened as he grinned at his boyfriend. Jaemin immediately sat down and pulled him into a hug, pushing his face into Eric’s neck. 

“I missed you too you baby.” He giggled at the other’s actions. 

Jaemin's response was muffled by Eric’s winter coat. 

“What was that?” 

The other finally moved away to look up at him. “Hey.” 

Eric placed a kiss on his nose. “Hi.” 

They stared at one another for a few minutes before a call of Eric’s name from the front of the car interrupted them. 

“Yeah, hyung?” Eric responded, not letting Jaemin move away as he wrapped his arms around him, making sure to avoid his still tender chest. 

“Jaemin’s manager wants to go over the schedule.” 

“Go ahead.” 

“Ok. We should arrive at the Vogue Korea Building in about 30 minutes. When we arrive, you’ll both be changed into your photoshoot outfits. I’ve been informed that there’s about 3 outfit changes, not entirely set in stone though. Then, you’ll both sit down for a video interview that should be published on their YouTube in a few weeks. Does that sound good?” 

“Yup. Thanks hyung.” Jaemin spoke up. 

The car ride was spent with the couple sharing random details about the week they spent apart as their managers fondly listened to their bickering. 

The second they arrived, the young idols were dragged into the changing room. Their first outfits were already prepared and Eric admired them. His outfit consisted of a brown cardigan and beige wide legged pants. Jaemin had a short sleeved beige shirt and brown jeans, along with some glasses that made him look like either a 70s sitcom actor or a serial killer. 

Eric told him exactly that and the other laughed loudly, drawing the staff's attention to them. The couple paid them no attention as they giggled, as if in their own bubble. They quickly changed and sat side by side in the makeup chairs, allowing random staff members to do their hair and makeup. 

Jaemin softly reminded the staff of the scars on his scalp from his surgery and they immediately assured him that they’d avoid touching it. He thanked them quietly and turned to find Eric already looking at him. He made a silly face at his boyfriend, if only to hear his adorable laugh. 

They spent their time in the chairs cracking jokes. The staff members all smiled softly amongst themselves, intrigued to see the dynamic of the young men, who while forced to come out in such horrible circumstances, managed to still laugh and enjoy one another’s company as if they had no worries. 

They finished quickly before their managers came and led them to the first set up. A cute brown couch surrounded by random plants. The director came up to them and smiled brightly. 

“Hello boys.” She exclaimed, the two of them glancing at one another in bewilderment at her enthusiasm. 

Regardless, they bowed at her politely before introducing themselves. 

“Oh I know who you are. I’m quite excited to do this photoshoot. You both are gonna look amazing.” She clapped her hands. “Ok, let’s begin.” 

She had them sit on the couch before explaining the concept for the first set of pictures. “For this we want you both to sit on opposite ends of the couch and to place your hands on the back of it. Make sure your hands touch. That’s perfect. Now, look away from each other.” 

Eric listened attentively, doing exactly what she asked of them. Jaemin did too but it took him a while to get a blank look into his face. He was too giddy to be taking photos with his boyfriend. Eventually he got it down. 

“Great. Now Eric-ssi,” he looked up at the sound of his name, “turn and look at Jaemin-ssi with some longing in your eyes.” 

Eric blushed, not used to having someone telling him to actually look at his boyfriend instead of looking away. They repeated the same idea with Jaemin looking at Eric instead and finally a photo of them staring at one another with their hands between them on the couch. 

The rest of the photoshoot followed in the same matter. They had 2 more outfit changes. The second outfits were super cozy, simple knit sweaters in pastel colors. The director had them laying on a bed and allied them to mess around on the sheets, tickling and tackling one another. The last outfits were much darker. Eric got dressed in a thin black turkey neck and black dress pants while Jaemin had on a black leather jacket over a white shirt. 

For these pictures the director wanted a more sensual tone. They had Eric lean back against Jaemin’s chest and his boyfriend wrapped a possessive arm around his waist. They both stared into the camera. Jaemin was instructed to place his face in Eric’s neck as the younger looked off to the side. Lastly, Eric was told to look back at Jaemin, their lips close to touching but not quite. 

The photoshoot wrapped quickly, and they thanked the staff for their hard work before their managers guided them to a separate room to have their interview. They greeted their interviewer and got started. 

(I=interviewer, J=Jaemin, E=Eric)

Interviewer: “Thank you guys for coming here today for this interview. If you don’t mind, please look into the camera and introduce yourselves.” 

Jaemin: “Hey there. I’m Na Jaemin and I’m in a group called Nct.” 

Eric: “Hello, I’m Son Eric from The Boyz.”

Interviewer: “Now, I know you guys have had a tough month so let’s start with some basic questions instead. How did you two meet?” 

Jaemin chuckled as Eric blushed. 

J: “It’s quite a funny story actually.” 

E: “Funny to you maybe.” 

J: “I guess. Well, it was around early December of last year. It was at the start of award season so our schedules overlapped quite a lot. I had been on my way to the bathroom at the Kbs music festival when I felt someone run into me from behind causing us both to fall.” 

E: “In my defense, I had been pushed by a group member.” 

I: “Would you like to share why he pushed you.” 

E: “Um, he knew I had a crush on Jaemin and tried to force me to speak with him. Don’t know why he thought pushing me into him was the best way.” 

Jaemin smiled at him fondly, grabbing his hand off the arm of his chair. 

J: “It worked didn’t it?” He turned towards the interviewer. “I’ve thanked Hyunjae multiple times for doing it.” 

I: “And then what happened?” 

E: “I got up almost immediately and bowed about a hundred times to get him to forgive me. Jaemin just waved it off, smiling at me and I knew I was a goner. We spoke for a few minutes and we exchanged numbers. The rest is history I guess.” 

I: “That’s sweet. Next question, how did your groups react to you being in a relationship? I’m sure there was some turmoil.” 

J: “Surprisingly, everyone was incredibly understanding. I was incredibly glad, I don’t know what I would’ve done had they been unsupportive.” 

E: “Same goes for me. My group is my family so their support meant a lot to me. However, regardless of how they felt I wouldn’t have left Jaemin. I was in you snarked but him.” 

It was Jaemin’s turn to blush. 

I: “And your companies?” 

J: “SM had a reputation for keeping things under lock and key. Same goes for my relationship, as long as we were careful and avoided paparazzi we were good to go.” 

E: “Cre.ker took a while to come to terms with it but eventually they calmed down. Though, security increased a bit to ensure the media or sasaengs didn’t sneak around.” 

I: “I see. How about we play a round of rapid fire questions. I ask a question and you respond with your partner's answer. Got it?” 

They both nodded. 

I: “Great. First question - favorite color?” 

J: “Easy, black.” 

E: “White.” 

I: “Least favorite season?” 

E: “Jaemin hates summer, he can’t stand sweating.” 

J: “Winter, he easily gets cold.” 

I: “Hidden talents?” 

Jaemin laughed at the random question.

J: “He can secretly play the piano but doesn’t mention it cause he’s not confident.” 

E: “He’s an amazing cook. He made me tacos once when I missed it from LA and it was delicious.” 

I: “Ok, last question. What is your partner's favorite trait of yours?” 

J: “That’s a tough one. Let me think.” 

Eric spoke up instantly. 

E: “Oh I know. He loves my hands, says they’re perfect to hold.” 

Jaemin nodded along to his statement. 

J: “That’s true. I think his favorite trait of mine is that I’m taller than him. It’s not by much but I know he loves it when I place my chin on his head.” 

I: “You guys are quick. That segment was meant to last at least 10 minutes.” She laughed before rotating her cue cards. “If you don’t mind, may we talk about your incident?” 

Eric and Jaemin glanced at one another before Jaemin nodded at him silently. They knew this was bound to happen and had prepared for it but that doesn’t mean they were completely unaffected.

J: “Sure.” 

I: “Could you give us a run down of the events leading up to the crash?” 

Jaemin took a deep breath before starting. 

J: “It was New Year’s Eve. Our anniversary was the next day and I had stopped by the flower shop to get him some flowers. Poppies, since those are his favorite.” Jaemin paused to gather his thoughts. He was interrupted by Eric softly squeezing his hand and giving him a reassuring look that said I’m right here, go ahead. He continued. “My car was parked across the street and I was halfway there when I heard the screeching of tires. It was too late for me to move and the next thing I knew, I was waking up from a 3 week coma covered in bandages and unable to move.” 

The interviewer gave him a moment to calm down before directing her next question at Eric. 

I: “Eric-ssi, what was the phone call like when you were informed about the interview?” 

E: “Jaemin’s group member Jeno called me to let me know. We’ve grown to be pretty close since I started dating Jaemin. I don’t remember much of how I reacted, my group told me that I screamed and basically shut down but I can’t tell you how I felt really. Mostly just numb.” 

I: “You held a conference the next day to address the rumors. How was that?”

E: “To be completely honest? It was absolutely horrible. My boyfriend was bedridden and instead of being by his side I was forced to stand on a podium and announce a relationship we had never planned on revealing. Well, not this early into it.” 

The interviewer nodded, looking at him with a mixture of pity and admiration. 

I: “I must admit, when I watched it I was quite moved. The way you spoke of your relationship was incredibly nuanced.” 

Eric thanked her quietly. 

She turned back to Jaemin. 

I: “How did it feel to wake up and find out that not only you’d been in a horrible accident but that your relationship had been outed?” 

J: “It was a huge shock. I can’t really remember much of the accident but when my parents told me that the note I had written was leaked to the public I was incredibly upset. I mean, how would regular people feel about their personal effects being posted everywhere? I might be an idol but I’m human. It took me a week to get over the implications and realized that maybe ut was a blessing.” 

I: “How so?”

J: “Eric and I had briefly discussed coming out but fear of backlash kept us from doing so. Sure, I would’ve preferred for the circumstances to be under our will but life doesn’t always work out that way. I’m just glad I can finally show Eric off to the world as not only a friend but as the love of my life.” 

Eric wiped a stray tear with his unoccupied hand. Words could not describe how much he loved this man. 

I: “That’s incredibly sweet. One last question. I’ve seen quite a lot of talk about you having couples jewelry. Is that true?” 

They laughed quietly and held their right hands up. 

E: “Guilty as charged. Jaemin bought them for us as a Christmas present.” 

J: “I don’t think I’ll be able to do better with next year's presents. I have to start searching from now.” 

Eric playfully punched his shoulder while Jaemin simply grinned cheekily at him. 

I: “Thank you both for coming in today. I hope you have a long and happy relationship.” 

The interviewer got up from behind the camera, shaking their hands before the camera cut off. Once again they thanked the staff for their hard work. 

Eric’s manager came towards him and smiled down at him. “I’m proud of you Eric-ah.” 

“Thanks hyung, it means a lot.” 

An arm around his waist startled him. He turned to look at Jaemin. 

“Yes?” He questioned. 

“Would you like to go get dinner together?” 

Eric rolled his eyes. “Is that even a question? Of course.” 

————  
“Vogue Korea: New upload.

Exclusive Interview with Na Jaemin and Son Eric.  
Get to know the couple that overcame an accident and broke the internet. 

Comments  
User1: I don’t stan either but they’re so adorable. Fighting!

User2: People were calling us crazy a few months ago for shipping them! To the haters who doubted us, we told you

User3: I hope Jaemin has a speedy recovery

User4: I’m glad these idols are brave enough to stand up for their relationship. I hope other celebrities follow in their footsteps to end the stigma sprung gay couples


End file.
